Pelvic congestion syndrome is a condition that is caused by what are basically ‘pelvic varicose veins’. Due to differences in anatomy of the pelvis, it usually affects females more than males. As with varicose veins in the legs, if the valves fail in the pelvic veins, blood that should be pumped out of the pelvis and back to the heart stays inside dilated varicose veins within the pelvis. This both stops the normal blood circulation to the pelvic organs and also causes these large varicose veins to push on the pelvic organs – the bladder, bowel, vagina and also the pelvic floor.

The symptoms of pelvic congestion syndrome predominantly come from the weight of the blood pushing on these structures.

It is not known exactly what proportion of females suffer from pelvic congestion syndrome. However, in the past, many gynaecological texts have estimated that up to a third of patients in gynaecology outpatients do not have anything wrong with them with relation to the gynaecological conditions that are readily investigated. However pelvic congestion syndrome is rarely checked for by gynaecologists and a surprising number of gynaecologists report ‘large varicose veins in the pelvis’ at investigation such as laparoscopy, even though they then say that the test was normal.

It is becoming evident that because gynaecologists have not been brought up to diagnose this condition, a great many women who are suffering from the symptoms of pelvic congestion syndrome are not having the appropriate investigations (transvaginal duplex ultrasound scan) but are instead being put through expensive and needless tests such as MRI, CT and even laparoscopy under general anaesthetic and then being told that there is nothing wrong with them!

As leading research centres such as The Whiteley Clinic improve the understanding of venous conditions, particularly pelvic venous problems, more and more patients should get properly diagnosed and treated rather than palmed off as ‘being normal’ by doctors who do not specialise in pelvic venous conditions.

Background of the term ‘pelvic venous congestion’

As with most names in medicine, the term “pelvic venous congestion” is really just a description of the problem:

‘Pelvic’ – means that it relates to a condition of the pelvis

‘Congestion’ – meaning too much blood in the veins and hence the venous circulation is “congested”

‘Syndrome’ – means a collection of different symptoms and signs

The Whiteley Clinic and referrals

The Whiteley Clinic is a specialist unit and is a private medical facility. We encourage you to get a referral from your general practitioner although if you do not wish to do so, we will still see you without one.

However, if you wish to use private medical insurance to pay for your consultations or tests, your insurer will probably insist on a referral from a medical practitioner. Please check if this is the case.